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It is an everyday equipment with immense impacts: 2.3 billion humans still cook by burning wood, coal or other fuels in rudimentary and polluting systems, a major health, social and climatic issue which will be at the forefront. heart of an unprecedented meeting organized Tuesday in Paris.
Today, a third of the world’s population uses open cooking stoves or rudimentary stoves fueled by wood, charcoal, coal, kerosene, agricultural waste or dung, according to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report )-African Development Bank (AfDB)-UN which launched the alert last year.
A source of fine particle pollution
Burning these fuels pollutes the air indoors and outdoors with fine particles which enter the lungs and cause multiple respiratory and cardiovascular problems, including cancers and strokes. Fumes cause 3.7 million deaths each year, the third cause of premature death in the world and the second in Africa. In young children, it is a major cause of pneumonia.
The first victims are women and children, who also spend hours every day looking for fuel, time not devoted to school.
Governments, institutions, the UN, businesses… some 800 participants and representatives from 50 countries are announced Tuesday at UNESCO headquarters at the invitation of the IEA, the AfDB and the Tanzanian and Norwegian leaders.
The primary objective of this meeting, primarily focused on Africa, the first area concerned: to bring together commitments, financial and in terms of projects, the details and sum of which will be published at midday.
“It will be an unprecedented meeting, but above all it is intended to be an event allowing a change of direction” Laura Cozzi, director of sustainability and technology at the IEA, who has been following the issue for 25 years, told reporters.
The subject of cooking methods “is transversal, it touches on so many problems, it is time to place it at the center of attention“.
The manager promises “a real mobilization action“and awaits announcements of amounts”very very encouraging“.
NO to diets, YES to WW!
A no-brainer for health and the climate
Another problem: methane emissions (linked to often poor combustion), but also deforestation, which is a massive cause, contribute to global warming.
According to the IEA, an offshoot of the OECD, switching to “clean” kitchen equipment by 2030 would save the planet 1.5 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases per year (CO2 equivalent), the equivalent of emissions from aviation and maritime transport (around fifty billion tonnes per year).
Progress has been made in major Asian countries, with a billion people equipped with less harmful cooking appliances since 2010 (running on solar power, biogas or even liquefied petroleum gas). But four out of five households remain deprived of it in sub-Saharan Africa, where the situation is deteriorating.
“There has been progress in Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania… but what we are really seeing is that population growth is outpacing progress.” on this continent, warns Daniel Wetzel, expert at the IEA.
However, the estimated necessary amounts remain modest, notes the agency: 4 billion dollars a year would be needed to resolve a large part of the problem in Africa by 2030, when only 2 billion are currently invested, mainly in the rest of the world. This is “a tiny fraction” of global investments in energy (2,800 billion in 2023), underlines the IEA.
“Yet it is difficult to imagine a more effective measure per dollar invested“, underlines Mr. Wetzel. “It’s obvious, we have to work on it“.
Establishing proactive action plans on a national scale, removing taxes and import restrictions on this type of device… are all necessary measures.
Financial support is also essential, experts add: most African households deprived of adequate equipment today cannot afford either a suitable stove or fuel, without aid or incentives.